A new book looking at boxing during the Troubles has been nominated for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year.
'In Sunshine or in Shadow: How Boxing Brought Hope in the Troubles' (Simon & Schuster) is the latest entry from author Donald McRae.
McRae is a two-time winner of the William Hill award and this is his fourth book on boxing to have featured on the longlist.
His previous entries include 1996 winner Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing, and 2002 winner In Black and White: The Untold Story of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens.
McRae's latest work looks at boxing’s role in the Troubles, focusing on the open approach of Belfast trainer Gerry Storey and champion boxer Barry McGuigan to form a picture of a sport and a nation at a time of intense unrest.
McRae is joined by fellow sports-writing heavyweight Donald Duncan Hamilton in the nominations for the 31st William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, both of whom are aiming to claim a record breaking third title.
The longlist was announced on Tuesday and sees both authors included alongside 12 other titles, including memoirs from Eniola Aluko and Irish boxer Andy Lee, all competing for the £30,000 cash prize.
The longlist has been chosen from a record 151 submissions for this year’s Award; sports-writing’s most valuable and prestigious prize.
Former WBO middleweight champion Lee’s autobiography, entitled 'Fighter' (Gill Books), is a joint work with journalist Niall Kelly.
It details Lee’s voyage to the top of the sport as a reflection on what it means to compete in the most unforgiving of arenas.
The longlist in full (alphabetically by author’s surname):
- They Don’t Teach This: Lessons from the Game of Life by Eniola Aluko (Yellow Jersey)
- Unbreakable: The Woman Who Defied the Nazis in the World’s Most Dangerous Horse Race by Richard Askwith (Penguin Random House)
- No Win Race: A Story of Belonging, Britishness and Sport by Derek A Bardowell (Harper Collins)
- Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance by Adharanand Finn (Faber & Faber)
- Homing by Jon Day (John Murray)
- The Great Romantic: Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus by Duncan Hamilton (Hodder & Stoughton)
- Fighter - Andy Lee with Niall Kelly (Gill Books)
- In Sunshine or in Shadow: How Boxing Brought Hope in the Troubles by Donald McRae (Simon & Schuster)
- The Beast, The Emperor and The Milkman: A Bone-shaking Tour through Cycling’s Flemish Heartlands by Harry Pearson (Bloomsbury)
- Rough Magic: Riding the World’s Wildest Horse Race by Lara Prior-Palmer (Penguin Random House)
- Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump by Rick Reilly (Headline Publishing Group)
- How Football (Nearly) Came Home: Adventures in Putin’s Russia by Barney Ronay (Harper Collins)
- Recovering by Richie Sadlier (Gill Books)
- Position of Trust: A Football Dream Betrayed by Andy Woodward (Hodder & Stoughton)
The 2019 shortlist will be announced on October 22. The winner will be announced at an afternoon reception at The Royal Horseguards Hotel on Thursday, December 5.
The shortlisted authors will receive a leather bound copy of their book and a £3,000 cash prize. This year’s winning author will receive a £30,000 cash prize and a trophy.
by Paul D.Gibson, charting the incredible life and career of Belfast boxer Eamonn Magee.
It shared the award with 'The Boy in the Water' by Tom Gregory.
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